Federal Judge Blocks Trump Order on Mail Voting for Midterms

A federal judge in Boston has again blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that sought to restrict mail voting, delivering a significant setback to the White House's efforts to reshape election procedures.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, barring the U.S. Postal Service and other agencies from taking steps to carry out the order for the upcoming November midterm elections. The order, signed by President Donald Trump in March, would have directed the federal government to create a national list of eligible voters and required the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to individuals on that list.

Judge Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, had previously halted the order in an earlier ruling. Her latest decision came in response to lawsuits filed by the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups, who argued that the president lacks constitutional authority to set election rules, a power reserved for states and Congress.

In her ruling, Judge Talwani wrote that the executive branch has no authority to regulate elections. She also noted that with less than 90 days until the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, an injunction is critical to prevent changing election rules on the eve of the vote.

The administration has argued that the plaintiffs lack standing and that the order has not yet been fully implemented. Government lawyers also contended that the harms cited by plaintiffs were speculative. However, Judge Talwani observed that the administration has so far declined to defend the order's constitutionality.

This is the second executive order on elections issued by Trump during his second term. The first, signed earlier, would have required proof of citizenship for voter registration. The administration has also pushed for federal legislation, including the SAVE America Act, which has passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

Election officials and postal unions have raised concerns that the order could cause confusion and place mail carriers in the role of policing ballots. States already maintain their own voter roll accuracy processes, and studies have shown that noncitizen voting is extremely rare and already a felony.

The administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in related cases, but Tuesday's ruling adds another legal obstacle. A separate lawsuit challenging the order in Washington, D.C., was dismissed as premature, but the Boston case has proceeded on the merits.